The Lost Diary Of Kasturba Gandhi Sheds New Light Into The Life Of The Iconic Freedom Fighter

L: Kasturba Gandhi R: A cover of the book 'The Lost Diary of Kastur, My Ba'L: britannica.com R: Harper Collins

If Mahatma Gandhi is our Bapu or father of our Nation, that must make his wife Kasturba Gandhi the mother of our beloved nation. However, when we talk of the great leaders of our Independence movement, Kasturba Gandhi’s popularity is often overshadowed by the towering influence of her husband even though her contributions were of great importance. She was involved in politics alongside her husband and others when she established the Phoenix Settlement near Durban, South Africa in 1904. She led many against the ill-treatment of Indian immigrants in South Africa. Throughout her life, she was a proponent of imparting education to women. Kasturba Gandhi also served multiple prison sentences and solitary confinement while protesting against India’s colonial masters. Her contribution to the Quit India Movement is uncalculatable and a person of stature deserves more recognition in India’s history books.

Two years ago, the staff of the Gandhi Research Foundation of Jalgaon found a scuffed and damaged diary at Kasturba Ashram in Indore. Turns out it was a 135-page diary written by Kasturba Gandhi, spanning from January to September 1933. Much like Kasturba, her diary lay forgotten and overlooked. That was the case until her great-grandson, Tushar Gandhi found it and started reading it. As he read the diary, he got a glimpse into who she was—a brave individual, and a satyagrahi in her own right, unlettered but astute.

It was then that Tushar Gandhi decided to adapt that lost diary into a book titled The Lost Diary of Kastur, My Ba. Ba is the name that Mahatma Gandhi endearingly called her and that is why it is included in the title of the book. Tushar Gandhi’s book is a reproduction of the diary, accompanied by a transcription of what she has written in Gujarati, along with an English translation by him. The book was published by Harper Collins and is now available to read.

In the book, the reader gets to hear from Kasturba, in her own words, for the first time. Containing personal records of day-to-day activities, it provides a peek into what it was like to be married to Mahatma Gandhi. Harper Collins put a lot of thought behind the cover of this important book. The idea was to create an elegant vintage charm around Kastur Ba's diary which feels warm, intimate, and personal. Capturing the unsung legacy of Kasturba as her own person, the first three covers derive from this idea of historical time. The fourth cover in the series below represents a modern take with a neat and clean type against a strong photo of Kasturba.